Hello everyone! How are you? I wish you are doing well!
Chapter 56 is here and as always, I hope you enjoy it!
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See you all next week!
"…" Ruby stood over the horrible scene, trying her best to put the pieces together. Behind her, Alex continuously hummed next to Mathew Moose, ready to protect the older faunus if necessary.
Ahead of the brunette huntress, Albus' form was trying its best to sketch the scene in his notebook, in a way to organize his thoughts and- possibly- come to any sort of deduction about the situation.
After the Grimm attacking them had pulled back and the snowfall had become lighter, the lumberjack had explained about the Nest.
He had told them the Arachneas had settled a few decades ago in North Aegis, preying upon the entire area leading up to Gloomharrow valley.
Thankfully, Carmel facility was in the southern part of the forest, according to the man. That had helped ease Ruby's concerns for a while as they rode their vehicles accompanied by their host inside the forest.
But then, this had appeared. In the middle of the path, an entire pert of the road had turned deep red by the blood of Dust knew how many poor CC armed guards.
Torn pieces of flesh, clothes still attached on it… heads, limbs and bloody bones spread all over the place, horribly chewed and gnawed… broken weapons and torn supply bags…
Ruby's glove-covered finger stirred a small pool next to a severed leg, trying her best to not weep for the poor fellows. What is worse, the horrible scene, or the fact I am not totally disgusted by it? She thought.
Lowering his hood, Albus revealed his black and white hair as he tried to not step on too much body parts while walking towards Alex. It turned out to be quite the challenge, as he realized in disgust.
"They are so horribly killed and feasted upon, I can't even determine how many of them were here to begin with" he closed his notebook.
"What could have possibly caused this?" the bat faunus asked, staring at Matthew. "I can't be sure…" the brown-haired man used a handkerchief to cover his mouth "but the spiders do not kill like this."
"The only good thing" Ruby stood up, rubbing the frozen blood off her gloves "is that I haven't found anything belonging to Yang or Blake around here."
"Do you think they escaped somehow?" Albus asked her. "I am almost sure- they both excel at dealing with unexpected situations." She stared towards the woods "they could have easily escaped while the Grimm attacked."
"That's encouraging, but still brings us to square one. We have zero leads about where they might be." Ruby returned to her snowmobile and gestured the lumberjack to follow.
"If I were them, after resting, I would go straight to save Weiss" she said, switching on the vehicle's engine. "And that's exactly what I am going to do- Mr. Moose, do you know the way to the CC facility?"
"Yeah. Never been there on my own, but the path is hard to miss if you are familiar with the place. There is also an old abandoned cabin along it that could have been used for shelter if your friends are as skilled as you claim." She gave him a quick nod and both vehicles rushed forward away from the macabre scene.
-o—
"It's getting dark" Blake, eyes perked on top of her head and knives in hands, said after staring above the thick canopy. Ilia raised her head as well and her eyes got narrowed.
"That makes the situation even worse- we have been running and fighting all day long and for all I know we may be leading further away from the facility" Yang rubbed her hastily bandaged left arm.
The cat faunus rubbed her hair. Her usually smooth and rich black strands were now wet, filled in sweat, water and grime. Additionally, half her body was filled in the remains of small, semi-transparent webs.
"We have to keep moving- I will search for a safe place for the night" she finally said. "I want private bathrooms and a grill buffet" her partner commented.
"Your jokes are truly the last thing we need right now" Ilia glared at the blonde. "Hey, that's my way of staying focused. Take it, or leave it; unless you prefer listening to my concerns which, for the record, are quite numerous at this point" the elaborate reply came.
"Ok, that's enough for both of you" Blake said, effectively stopping their quarrel. "Can you keep up?" she asked as she turned her towards them.
"This is actually something we should be asking you, Blake" Ilia replied in concern. "Cham is right, Kitten. You have been tracking and leading us non-stop. Maybe you should-"
"You are the one who got clobbered by a Behemoth, Yang, not me." Yellow eyes narrowed and Lilac followed suit. Light gray stared at her two companions in exasperation.
"I take it we are all able to move, if you two have time to be stubborn like this" the chameleon girl said. Two quick nods was the only response she got before Blake turned around and started tracking.
The ground was becoming more and more uphill with every few steps they were taking. "We are climbing a slope, aren't we?" Yang commented.
"Yes- I hope we can reach some sort of vantage point- we have to somehow establish where exactly we are" the black-haired beauty replied.
Neither Yang nor Ilia objected to that and, as the night started to fall, they found themselves in front of another opening inside the forest.
At this point, the slope had started being really tough to walk in a regular pace- Yang was sure they were practically climbing a mountain. For some reason, that thought made her shiver.
"Stay close to Ilia, Yang" Blake, carefully moving ahead of them, commented. Without waiting for a response, the cat-girl stepped inside the opening.
The land was clean; too clean for a forest, the faunus thought. Only fresh, powdery snow covered it. Even the ever-present until now spider webs were nonexistent.
The only things inside the distinctively clear area were three large circles on the ground. They were formed by small, black rocks carefully arranged and- Blake picked up one- covered in dried blood.
"Another one of those religious things?" Yang asked; the circles visible even to her under the last few rays of daylight. She noticed there were weird-looking carvings on them as well. Somehow, they looked familiar.
"Yes…" Blake answered in a half-hearted manner. The rock in her hand was heavy-much heavier than she would have ever expected. And, it felt strange. It…hurt her.
"Blake?" She didn't respond this time. The pain in her arm was growing with every passing second. It was strange; there were no wounds or even burns… just pain. And sorrow. This rock was making her sad.
"Blake?" Yang was calling her, but she didn't respond. Her mind was lost; lost back in time.
She remembered Yang, bleeding from the right severed arm on the floor of Beacon Academy.
Adam, her old weapon's tip through his chest, falling to his death.
She remembered Weiss and Ruby, crying at each other's arms over Qrow and Winter's death as they were escorted to Atlas' Prison.
Lumia and Penny lying half-dead in front of Thornwood Hospital; around them dozens of dried human corpses, victims of the Arachnea.
Velvet crying in front of her team's graves.
Sun… Sun getting sliced down by-
"BLAKE!" Yang slapped the rock out of the faunus girl's hand. She turned around, looking at her two companions. Her partner had left Ilia's side and ran straight for her, now looking visibly worried.
"Did it happen again?" despite the dark, the faunus could easily recognize her partner's caring, lavender eyes staring at her. Ilia was standing behind, equally concerned, checking their surroundings.
"Ah…" she rubbed her neck, trying to ease the gulp that had formed in her throat. "Yes, but… this time it was different…vivid images… and so many of them…"
"You are exhausted Blake- better get out of his place and find some cave or large tree to try get some sleep" the chameleon girl commented from behind them. "I agree" Yang knelt to take the stone-
The image of her mother, impaled through her stomach, on top of Tyrian's corpse, next to a heavily wounded Blake, filled her vision.
She blinked- Ruby, heavily battered, walked away from Avyssos' chasm, supporting Weiss, who has trying her best not to collapse from having lost her left eye.
"What the freaking Dust?!" she threw the accursed stone away. "This" she explained to the two confused faunus "was not Blake's fault- that stone did it. They showed me images- horrible memories."
"Let's move; the path seems to widen from here on" the cat-girl said, attempting to divert their attention. All of them rushed away and ran higher- to meet some unexpected scenery.
The night sky and gray clouds greeted them from above, as for the first time in a few days they saw a true opening without any trees in Aegis Forest.
Instead, seven of the same weird-looking black rocks with bloody carvings on them were there. The rocks were huge, almost six-meters high and seemed to pulse with a sinister aura. The girls shivered.
They formed a circle and in its middle… "Do you see anything?" Yang asked. "There is a stone… table in the middle" Blake replied as all three of them stepped inside the circle.
The hateful energy swirled around them; even without being able to exactly see it, the brawler could literally feel the pitch-black darkness that emanated from these stones.
And then, she felt something different. Or, more accurately, all three of them did. A loud thud, like heavy footsteps, echoed inside the pitch-black forest. Accompanied by the sound of swaying trees.
It was loud and heavy; heavy enough to put the Behemoth to shame. "Ahm… do you guys-" "Yes!" both faunus cut her off, fear evident in their voices.
The reason behind their reaction was really simple; they could see what Yang didn't. They could both see the treetops not far away from them move back and forth, despite the lack of air.
"Hide behind the stones, now!" Blake snapped into action, leading them behind the leftmost pillar. She knew that any nocturnal predator worth a lien would have a way to locate them, but she wouldn't make it easy for it.
The footsteps increased and became heavier and heavier, the swaying vegetation indicated whatever moved was approaching them- one could even say it was going straight for them.
And then it came into view. Its appearance was so sudden and its true identity, despite not totally unexpected, was enough to make them stifle a horrified gasp.
A colossal spider, tall as a tree, with skin as black as polished obsidian, came into view. Crystal-like white bone blades covered its front legs and reinforced white armor plates protected its other six ones, belly and head. Black acid dripped from its body, melting the snow.
Six scissor-like appendages surrounded its mouth. Three sets of scornful red eyes surveyed the opening, accompanied by thousands more on its back; they belonged to the hundreds of critters being carried there.
The Arachnea Broodmother, Queen of the Hive, turned her attention towards the stones. It didn't utter one single sound, but the silence was as deafening for the three huntresses.
-o—
"I think this is the time to run away, screaming like little girls" Yang whispered. "If I thought we can outrun it, I would have already started" Blake replied.
"You guys killed one of these under Thornwood, didn't you?" Ilia whispered, crawling on the pillar. "How did you do it?"
"We carried our weapons, were prepared for an expedition, and had 9 more huntsmen and huntresses with us" her fellow faunus commented. "I think we lack quite a few things here."
The hulking predator moved even closer to the stones, its huge shadow falling upon the circle. "The only thing I can tell you is that its neck and back are its weak spots."
"…" Ilia blinked. "You mean the place that numerous Webspinners are protecting?" "Exactly" Yang, trying her best to view anything except for the red dots and black outlines, replied.
The creature came even closer; at this point its head was just a few meters above the first column. It glared, moving it around as if searching for something.
"It seems to be looking for us- what do we do?" Ilia asked. "As soon as it takes the next step, run to the back and climb the furthest stone- we have to get on equal ground with its head for starters" Blake replied.
"How is Yang-" Ilia didn't even manage to finish her question. A single projectile was shot from the blonde's direction towards the center of the stones, crashing on top of the table.
Soundless as always, the Nest turned towards the sudden sound, just before Yang's arm gun shot at it. The web-covered stone received the flame dust projectile and burst in flames, filling the stones with its red light.
"Dash!" all three huntresses ran backwards, the exact moment their enemy opened its mouth and spit black mud at them. The nasty goo fell on their previous standing spot, melting the snow and corroding the ground beneath. However, the pillar remained unaffected by it.
A giant blade swiped through the air, aiming to cut them in half. Yang jumped and rolled forward, while Ilia simply ducked. Blake let her clone absorb the hit and reappeared next to them.
"There!" the second claw impaled the ground as the massive body moved forward and knocked down the first two pillars. Yang grabbed the third one and used its surface as foothold to propel away.
It was at that moment the little critters started spitting webs. The nasty, poisonous strands hit the blonde woman on the right side, as she had barely managed to turn in order to let her metal arm defend.
The series of attacks continued, showering all three of them and filling the half-lit ruins with the stench of venom vapors, augmented by the Broodmother's breath weapon.
Blake teleported again twice, ending on top of the third rock, the closest one to the monster. Ilia unleashed her whip and used it as a makeshift hook to quickly climb up next to her away from the attacks.
Yang stopped and turned around. Unlike the others, now that she was out of gravity dust, she needed some extra foothold to jump that high within a moment's notice.
"Yang!" the chameleon girl said, but Blake didn't even worry. She knew her partner's logic in such situations; if you don't have a foothold, let one come at you.
The Hive stood above her and showered the brawler in poison, forcing her to roll away once more. Immediately, it moved forward to impale her with its blades, hitting the third pillar.
"Go!" the two faunus jumped to the fourth one, and then to the fifth, just before the previous two collapsed under the force of the monster.
The spinners turned at them and started shooting toxic strands. "You know what to do, Ilia! Use all of your fire dust!" Blake flipped her blades and started whirling them, making a series of X- and V- patterned slices.
She used her outstanding eyesight and agility to cut and severe the strands just as they passed by her, in order to avoid getting stuck. She continuously moved spinning and dodging.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Yang jumped, kicked and rolled, to avoid the toxic sludge, waiting for the Hive's next series of attacks. She knew it was risky- her aura was still in bad shape. But, if she could force it to-
The Grimm didn't disappoint her. After a few failed attempts at hitting her with its breath weapon or body vapors, it shot its blade-like appendages at her.
"Wow!" Yang sidestepped the right blade, avoiding the huge crater it left on the earth. As the left one thrust at her head, she grabbed the other- and jumped on it.
The Hive retracted its arms and started running the blades across each other in an attempt to throw her off. The disgusting sound of bone finding bone filled the circle.
None of them had the luxury of dealing with it, however. Blake kept dodging and slicing the web spits, jumping back and forth between the sixth and the seventh pillar.
Yang whirled, jumped and climbed on the two blades. She had to focus; with her aura that low, any hit could potentially be fatal. She had to keep climbing-
The left blade sizzled along the right's surface, coming for her. She jumped maneuvered mid-air and used her right arm to grab its edge. This was exhausting her- she really was overexerting her body here!
While the other two focused on avoiding the attacks, Ilia had managed to use her camouflage to reach the last stone column. She lashed her whip out and latched it on top of the beast's back.
As soon as she landed on the humongous lump of crystallized flesh and bone, all Webspinners turned at her. She knew her semblance couldn't protect her from the monsters that long; only if she kept a low profile.
But still, she couldn't help the impeding sense of dread she felt when a sea of pulsing and throbbing red eyes moved to swarm her. She readied her whip-
A Blake-shaped shadow descended upon the swarm, cutting, slicing and dicing the critters. Any Arachnea coming too close was dispatched by the cat-girl and the few who survived were dodged by her semblance.
It took less than a couple seconds for the faunus to snap out of her awe and kneel on top of the moving back. Thankfully, both of them had perfect balance and didn't bother the huge spider's rapid thrashes.
Using her lightning whip as a makeshift cutter, the chameleon faunus cut a deep hole on the black flesh. The Hive screeched and thrashed, trying to get rid of the dangerous intruder.
The swarm tried to bypass Blake, but the faunus fully unleashed her semblance, blinking, attacking and then blinking again. Her movements were so precise; it was as if a literal Blake Wall got erected to protect her friend from the carnivorous minions.
Balancing with her left hand on top of the moving hive, Ilia pulled out their last fire dust vials. And then, she felt a surge of energy pulsing from below.
All the pores of its body opened, unleashing a venomous miasmatic cloud that started engulfing them- and then stopped.
Sensing what the monster was trying to do, Yang had decided to jump and grab one of the Grimm's fangs. It thrashed its head and fangs, trying to throw her in its mouth, but she kept a firm grip.
"GO! ILIA!" The tall woman opened her right arm's handgun and emptied the last remaining of her dust reserves on the creature's head.
She knew they wouldn't do anything serious, but that wasn't her intention. All she needed was to distract it enough.
The chameleon-girl threw all the fire dust inside the hole and then readied her whip "JUMP!" she screamed as she hit the makeshift bomb with her weapon.
The explosion engulfed all the area, lighting the night sky like New Year's fireworks. A horrible, unearthly dying screech followed for a split second before total silence overcame it.